8 surprisingly profound quotes from your favourite childhood cartoons

On top of being a great source of pure entertainment, the cartoons that many of us have grown up with dealt out their fair share of realness.

With all of the hijinks and misadventures our favourite 90s/00s tv show characters got entangled with, it was easy to miss out on the things that they are trying to teach us. So, to jog your memory, I compiled a list.

Here are 8 times that your favourite cartoons taught you an important life-lesson:

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” – Mewtwo, Pokemon the First Movie

Pokemon the First Movie, courtesy OLM and Toho

After spending the entire movie being at odds with the circumstances of his birth (“this cannot be my destiny”), Mewtwo learns that it doesn’t define him, nor anyone else.

“Unfortunately, people often get scared and angry when they don’t understand something special and unique.” – Professor Utonium, Powerpuff Girls

Powerpuff Girls, courtesy Hanna-Barbera Cartoons

Perhaps we all need some more sugar, spice and everything nice.

“You know, we’re not put on this earth to live perfect lives, where we never get hurt or we never make mistakes. We’re put here to hurl ourselves head first into this crazy world, and the bruises and scrapes you get along the way, they just mean you’re living life.” – Lois Foutley, As Told By Ginger

As Told By Ginger, courtesy Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Word.

“Everyone must develop at his or her own rate; what is normal for one person may not be normal for another. Until you accept this you’ll never be happy.” – Lor McQuarrie, The Weekenders

The Weekenders, courtesy Walt Disney Animation

Although Lor was reading a quote off of a menu and had no idea what anything meant, the sentiment is still there!

“Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.” – Uncle Iroh, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender, courtesy Nickelodeon Animation Studios

Or, you know, basically anything Iroh says in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

“The journey is the destination, man.” – Gerald, Hey! Arnold

Hey! Arnold, courtesy Nickelodeon Animation Studios

The best part of this quote is that Gerald says it in the first episode when he’s dressed as a strawberry. Doesn’t make it any less true!

“We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what’s the same instead of always looking at what’s different… well, who knows?” Meowth, Pokemon the First Movie

Pokemon, courtesy OLM

I think it’s safe to say this movie taught you everything you know.

You know you’re a 90s kid when all of your life-lessons came in the form of cartoons!

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put on the rose-coloured glasses...

Yestalgic is the amalgamation of growing up and still having an affinity to the sounds, sights and feelings that make us feel young. It’s an appreciation of things that we remember fondly, as well as an appreciation of the new things that people say we should grow out of. Yestalgic is a rejection of that idea, and a complete indulgence in the things that make us feel childish.